Billy Twelvetrees still a doubt for England's first Test in New Zealand, live on Sky Sports

Billy Twelvetrees remains an injury doubt for England's opening Test against New Zealand on Saturday.

Last Updated: 02/06/14 5:23am

Billy Twelvetrees: Sidelined for a month with an ankle injury

The Gloucester centre is still undergoing treatment for the ankle injury that has kept him out of action for the last month.

Twelvetrees will again sit out training on Monday, but Lancaster is confident he still has a chance to feature at Eden Park in Auckland.

The England boss also confirmed that the rest of his squad has been given a clean bill of health.

Hooker Rob Webber has been passed fit after an ankle problem and he is expected to pack down alongside prop Joe Marler, who appears to have recovered from a hip injury.

"Billy still hasn't trained fully so we'll see how he progresses during the course of the week, but the clock is ticking now," Lancaster said.

"He's the major one, everyone else should be good to go."

Lancaster also reported that the Northampton and Saracens players in his squad have suffered no ill-effects from Saturday's Aviva Premiership final.

Number eight Billy Vunipola and fly-half Owen Farrell were briefly laid low by cramp, but they will fly to New Zealand on Wednesday and will be available for the second and third Tests against the All Blacks.

Impressed

Lancaster was also impressed with the performance of Dylan Hartley at Twickenham as the Saints hooker appeared as a second-half replacement on his return from a shoulder injury.

"Dylan got on around 60 minutes and played the extra-time as well," Lancaster said.

"He seemed to come through fine and he'll definitely be on the plane as he's an experienced player for us.

"As to whether Dylan will start the second Test, I'll make that decision after the first Test."

Hartley insisted he was fully recovered from his injury and had been for some time before Saturday's season finale.

"I have been good for 10 days or so now," he said.

"Going out there, I was a little bit nervous. I usually don't get nervous, but I hadn't played for a couple of months.

"The selection was accurate - Mike Haywood deserved to start and I was more than happy to come off the bench and do what I did.

"How many minutes did I do? 50. I think that was a good warm-up. In terms of intensity, you can't replicate Test rugby, but if I was going to be prepared, then Saturday was the perfect preparation.

"I have had my medical checks and I am clear."

Confident

As a result of the schedule, England will be without a number of first-choice players for the Auckland clash, but Lancaster in confident his side will give a strong account of themselves.

"We're confident of the players we have and the side we can put out," he said.

"The Premiership is a very competitive league and there are a lot of good players who get developed in that league, so we should be confident.

"A lot of our players have played New Zealand twice and will be looking forward to the challenge on Saturday."

Watch the opening Test live on Sky Sports 1. Coverage from Eden Park starts at 8am.